ABSTRACT
The return of the Red Army to the Baltic states in 1944 brought little relief or joy to the war-weary populace. Thousands fled across the sea to Sweden or ended up in displaced persons' camps in postwar Germany; hundreds more took to the woods, living in rudimentary concealed bunkers and fighting a bitter and protracted guerrilla campaign against the militia and army units. 1. The political police (MVD) carried out a major screening operation, singling out ‘war criminals’ and ‘enemies of the people' for transportation to the Soviet hinterland. An even more massive wave of deportations took place in 1949, in conjunction with the collectivisation programme; according to one estimate, the three Baltic countries lost about 3 per cent of their native populations during the last ten days of March 1949 alone. 2.
